The victory at Rajec on 23 November 1703

The Hungarian and Slovak rebels defeated the Imperials at Rajec on 23 November 1703 (I have improved a previous article with this battle.)

On 15 November, Bercsényi’s army defeated the Imperial troops at Zólyom, but the enemy commander-in-chief, Leopold Schlick, escaped the encirclement in time. He retreated towards Bajmóc (Bojnice) and sought to unite with General Adam Ritschan’s unit advancing northwards along the Vág valley.

Ritschan joined forces with Colonel Ottlyk György’s group of noble insurgents in the Vág valley and then turned to Rajec to join Schlick in Bajmóc.

The Kuruc general Károlyi Sándor also sensed the danger that the merger of the two imperial armies would pose to the Kuruc and ordered Captain Winkler Vilmos to prevent Ritschan’s movement. “Be on your guard and if the enemy intends to come towards me through the hills and narrow passages, shoot him,” he wrote to him.

Luby György, the captain of the Kuruc troops raiding the counties of Turóc and Trencsén, managed to intercept one of Ritschan’s letters, which revealed that the Imperial General had about 1600 soldiers (700 infantry, 160 German cavalry, and about 700 noble insurgents) under his command.

At dawn on 23 November, Ritschan’s army was attacked by Winkler’s Hajdú and Slovak rebels at the village of Rajec. The Kuruc torched some houses and attacked the village.
(...)
You can read the rest on my page, based on Szibler Gábor's research:
https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/14-july-1703-the-fight-at-tiszabecs/

We, Hungarians, Ruhens, and Slovaks would most likely speak in German if we had not joined forces against the Imperials during Rákóczi's War of Independence. We would not have any disputes over ethnic questions and borders, either...